CFL Wolfpack - Paws and Reflect

[mcsestretch]

Well I guess it's time to start writing my own dynasty report.

I inherited the 3-9 Anchorage Wolfpack in the CFL in Week 14 of the 2006 season. We finished up 2-2 by playing the hungry youngsters.

Wholesale changes were made prior to 2007. Cutting so many players meant that next year's salary cap would be blown but tomorrow could take care of itself.

A pass-heavy attack was instituted and the receivers were brought in to augment the talent that was there. A brand new D-line was signed to generate more of a pass rush.

The result? A 12-4 regular season and an appearance in the Conference Championship. We lost to eventual league champion Denver.

So that's where we're picking up: the beginning of salary cap hades otherwise known as the 2008 season.

[mcsestretch]

While Anchorage has been a great home for the Wolfpack, it's time to move somewhere a bit more...hospitable for a pro football team. Anchorage turned down our stadium proposal last year so let's see what's out there...

Possible candidates include St. Louis (2.86 million population), Dallas (5.42 million), Atlanta (4.23) and Houston (5.04). All would be dramatic upgrades over Anchorage (population 250,000). While we're looking to move, we might as well get them to build a fat new stadium as well. If the city REALLY wants a team they'll pay for the stadium. I can't wait to see the results after the draft.

On the staff hiring front, my head coach and offensive coordinator are both free agents. So, I'm looking to bring in a new one of each. Maybe I'll rehire one or both of mine since we went 12-4 last year.

Oh, and I'm currently 16.33 million over the cap. OUCH. Last year's winning season is costing me dearly this year.

Looking out long term, we do have 1 1st, 2 2nd, 2 3rd, 2 4th and 2 5th round picks so we should be able to reload and compete....hopefully.

More coming later.

[Taco]

Ooooh, our first team relocation! I like it!

[fantastic flying froggies]

Hmm, Dallas in the Ring of Cold division...interesting concept...http://www.shalkith.com/forum/images/smiles/eusa_think.gif (javascript:emoticon(':-k'))

[JeeberD]

There can never be too many teams in Texas...

[Raven Hawk]

There can never be too many teams in Texas...
One team is too many in Texas. :)

[mcsestretch]

I'm a Steeler fan so, believe me, the thought of playing in Dallas makes me physically ill but Anchorage just isn't a viable location anymore (stadium stinks and I need 1/3 of the town to attend every single ballgame to sell out).

I asked for the moon on the stadium and I'm interested to see what happens.

[mcsestretch]

Well, staff hiring is now done and it looks like our new coaches are our old coaches.

After courting, wining and dining replacements for the offensive coordinator and head coach positions, we eventually stuck with what we had.

Head Coach Jermaine Wells will be starting his 6th year with the Wolfpack. He is 62 and making 2.79 million per year.
QB Fair
RB Average
REC Very Good
OL Fair
K/P Average
DL Good
LB Very Good
SEC Good
YT Average
MOT Very Good
DIS Excellent
OP Good
DP Average
INJ Average

He lead us to a 13-5 record last year and appearance in the conference championship.

Offensive Coordinator Chester Houser is also in his 6th year, all with the Wolfpack. He is 51 years old and making 4.03 million per year.
QB Very Good
RB Excellent
REC Very Good
OL Very Good
K/P Average
DL Average
LB Very Good
SEC Average
YT Good
MOT Average
DIS Fair
OP Good
DP Good
INJ Average

He was responsible for helping to rejuvenate the Wolfpack passing attack last year.

Defensive Coordinator Gary Blouir is also entering his 6th year. He is 41 and making 2.75 million per year. He has 4 years remaining on his contract he signed last year.
QB Average
RB Average
REC Good
OL Average
K/P Very Good
DL Very Good
LB Excellent
SEC Average
YT Very Good
MOT Poor
DIS Average
OP Poor
DP Average
INJ Good

Blouir has some work to do this offseason.

So, we have the same coaching staff as last year. Here's hoping we can repeat the success.

Contract renegotiations coming up. Ugh...I'm DREADING this.

[mcsestretch]

Free Agency has officially begun and I'm starting out $15,000,000 over the cap.

This is the price I'm paying for trying to win it all last year.

Here's my roster:

Player Pos Exp Current Future Cntrct
Dendy, Guy QB 7 78 81 4 yrs
Gomez, Mario QB 13 47 47 1 yr.
Manuel, Lane QB 2 15 43 2 yrs
Forsberg, Ken RB 4 51 60 2 yrs
Bellisari, Isaac RB 6 37 43 1 yr.
Benton, Patrick RB 2 21 33 2 yrs.
Funderburk, J.J. FB 12 74 74 1 yr.
Eklund, Rufus FB 4 34 42 2 yrs
Deason, Maurice TE 11 72 72 2 yrs
Horn, Gabe TE 2 33 50 3 yrs
Schwartz, DerrickFL 9 59 59 3 yrs
McCaleb, Kelley FL 6 34 40 3 yrs
Pritchett, Arnie SE 7 53 53 2 yrs
Alonzo, Jeffrey SE 4 41 50 3 yrs
Honeycutt, KennetLG 6 72 72 5 yrs
Carnahan, Grover RG 8 55 55 5 yrs
Dees, Phillip RG 6 46 50 1 yr.
Bahr, Chris LT 7 81 86 4 yrs
Oakes, Cary LT 11 30 34 1 yr.
Hill, Frank RT 6 76 76 2 yrs
Wentland, Billy P 3 48 52 1 yr.
Irwin, Randy LDE 2 31 54 4 yrs
Poole, Albert NT 9 50 59 4 yrs
Talley, Gilbert NT 9 90 92 4 yrs
Partin, Lester SILB 8 69 72 4 yrs
Nobles, Johnie SILB 2 21 40 2 yrs
Washington, Pete WILB 6 69 74 3 yrs
Rea, Hassan SLB 8 63 63 4 yrs
Ruffin, Jose WLB 6 44 63 2 yrs
Bussard, Mikel WLB 7 72 72 1 yr.
Davey, Ira LCB 7 40 46 1 yr.
Meadows, Donald LCB 3 15 35 1 yr.
Parks, Leo RCB 9 43 46 1 yr.
Murray, Jacques RCB 4 68 68 2 yrs
Watson, Reggie SS 9 54 54 2 yrs
Garcia, Marcos FS 9 67 73 4 yrs
Ramsey, Harvey FS 9 49 55 1 yr.



If I had been smart, I would have listed the salaries above as well. Oh well, I guess you're just going to have to trust me. :)

I started off by renegotiating contracts:

OLB Rea - 4 yrs/12.73 million
LG Villeneuve - 5 yrs/20.33 million
WR Pritchett - 3 yrs/3.09 million
FB Woodward - 2 yrs/1.34 million
NT Griggs - 4 yrs/6.38 million
WR Schwartz - 3 yrs/3.00 million
RG Carnahan - 5 yrs/13.05 million


I also released the following players:

LT Oakes - was a good backup but was far too expensive
LCB Meadows - drafted in the 3rd round in 2006 by my predecessor. Just never panned out.
RB Bellisari - started the last game of the season for us last year and rushed for 24 yards. He was fairly inexpensive but was still overpriced.
RB Benton - an elusive "home run" type of runner who either gets you 4 yards, gets you 20 yards or loses 9 yards. Was a 6th round pick last year and the first of my draft picks to get cut.


Going into next week I'm still 8.57 million over the cap but I have some trades brewing that will lower that number considerably.

Stay tuned...

[mcsestretch]

Fargo gives:
3rd round pick next year

Anchorage gives:
FB Eklund
FS Ramsey

Fargo is getting a great deal out of this but I HAVE to drop salary.

This deal drops my salary this year by 2.68 million.

Now I'm only 5.8 million over the cap.

Expect some more renegotiations over the next few days.

[mcsestretch]

Cleveland receives:
WLB Bussard

Anchorage receives:
2010 2nd round pick

ANCHORAGE, AK - In a huge move that will help the Wolfpack get out of the self-imposed salary cap prison, WLB Mikel Bussard was sent to the Cleveland Flats in exchange for a 2nd round pick this year.

"Mikel has been a superb player for us and we wish him all the best for him and his wonderful family," said General Manager/Chief Towelboy Stretch. "He was a humble player and we loved having his example for the younger players to follow. However, in the business of the modern CFL, we had no choice but to go with younger, cheaper players."

In other personnel news, the defensive backfield is getting a minor shakeup. RCB Jacques Murray was released by the club today. In an official statement by the club, "the problem was, well, he's French. He kept surrendering to the receiver he was guarding. In week 8 last year we had a german shepard on the field and he wouldn't even leave the locker room tunnel."

On a positive note, CB Monty Wiley signed a renegotiated contract that will keep him as a member of the Wolfpack for the next 2 seasons.

The Wolfpack are still $6.6 million over the cap counting their draft picks. This reporter has heard rumors that bigger trades may be on the horizon.

[fantastic flying froggies]

...In other personnel news, the defensive backfield is getting a minor shakeup. RCB Jacques Murray was released by the club today. In an official statement by the club, "the problem was, well, he's French. He kept surrendering to the receiver he was guarding. In week 8 last year we had a german shepard on the field and he wouldn't even leave the locker room tunnel."...
Hey, I heard that! :D

Oh, how I hope you come to Detroit this season...

[mcsestretch]

No visits to Detroit this year FFF. Sorry!

P.S. No offense meant. You can take jabs at us for being fat, sloppy, lazy, spoiled whiners. :)

[mcsestretch]

ANCHORAGE, AK
In a blockbuster of a deal, all-world NT Albert Poole was shipped to Hartford along with a 2nd round pick this year in exchange for 1st and 2nd round picks in 2010.

"Due to our salary cap limitations, we really had no choice," said GM/Towelboy Stretch. "Albert was a fantastic player but his salary was handcuffing this franchise. The 2nd round pick was thrown in to lower our draft costs this year."

Poole was drafted by Anchorage in the 3rd round in 2003 and has exceeded everyone's expectations since then.

In another unusual trade, the 1.25 and 3.25 picks were sent to Fargo for a 1st round pick in 2009. "It's just this simple," said Stretch, "if Fargo's first round pick next year is 1.19 or better then it's a good trade for us. We figure we have a 2 in 3 chance of this being a good trade."

In other Wolfpack news:

Backup guard Phillip Dees was sent to Durham in exchange for a 5th round pick.
DT Gilbert Talley signed a new contract: 2 yrs / $1.19 million
P Brock Lightfoot was signed to a 1 year / $480,000 deal

[fantastic flying froggies]

P.S. No offense meant. You can take jabs at us for being fat, sloppy, lazy, spoiled whiners. :)
No offense taken. In fact, you'll find out I am the one that usually makes that particular joke around here...

[mcsestretch]

ANCHORAGE, AK

GM/Chief Towelboy Stretch has emerged from the war room. When asked what he thought of the draft, his response: "Well, considering we traded out of the first round, I think it went quite well. We didn't get all the players we targeted but we feel like we added quality depth to our team."

Without further ado, here is the 2008 Wolfpack draft class.

2.05 C Bryan Soule 8/57
3.04 DT Marco Fronimopoulos 16/54
4.05 T Albert Frazer 12/53
4.28 K Bryce Goodwin 41/70
5.25 S Les McCarthy 16/52
5.28 C Harvey Carr 8/52
6.28 FB Jamie Trout 13/48
7.28 CB Howard McGee 15/43

Immediately after the draft, Stretch got on the phone to various undrafted rookies to invite them to camp.

One can only speculate which rookies he called, but the Wolfpack is still in need of a D-lineman, CB, RB and one more O-lineman.

In non-draft news, the Wolfpack's bid to move to Dallas was declined by the city. There are no printable quotes by Stretch because any time he was asked about it what followed was a profanity-laced tirade that insulted the lineage of everyone from the greater Dallas-Ft. Worth area.

Better luck next year!

Finally, veteran QB Guy Dendy was released today along with P Billy Wentland. Dendy lost the starting QB spot with the trade of Lane Manuel to the Wolfpack. Wentland was made expendable by the signing of Brock Lightfoot this offseason.